The last installment in our membership development series detailed the process of goal-setting and delved into some basic strategies that clubs can use to help them achieve their goals, such as cultivating personalized experiences, engaging current members in the membership development process, providing either discounts or additional financing options, and strengthening the club’s value proposition. While these broad strategies are often cited as standard ways to appeal to new members, it’s the way in which they’re implemented—the specific tactics—that helps bring new members “home” to the club in the end.
Covering Your Bases
Private clubs have to play by the rules of the game in order to maintain their private status, which places some fairly hefty restrictions on what clubs can and can’t do when marketing to new members. Decisions to advertise the club’s facilities or advertise for members may not take into account the impact those actions may have on a club’s private status. Unlike the tax code, the principles laid down by the courts that define the boundaries of private status are much less forgiving when it comes to advertising.
A club is based on personal relationships and shared affinities. A private club is also an exclusive association. When courts try to determine whether a club is truly private, they look to these two factors first. The problem with advertising is that it undermines both the “personal” and the “exclusive” factors. While this issue alone may not destroy a club’s private status, it certainly weakens a club’s ability to claim exclusivity.
Hit Singles
While it may seem tempting to be able to launch a program that appeals to all prospective members, personalization really is the best way to build a relationship with an individual membership prospect or particular prospect group. Rather than a blanket appeal to prospective members, try targeting correspondence and communications to a particular prospect’s interests and needs. Addressing prospects by name, providing information about family-friendly activities for prospects with children (and, just as importantly, leaving out that information for prospects without), and organizing informal lunches, receptions and special events for those prospects with similar, specialized interests are all ways to help build relationships one prospect at a time. Making a prospect feel special and important helps to draw members into the recruitment process and makes them feel like a true MVP.
Encourage the Leadoff Hitter
Sometimes, the best way for a membership development team to approach a new target may be not to approach them at all. Current members are the best source for new members, and encouraging current members to bring in new prospects is the best way to ensure that prospects have a real connection to the club, its current members and its lifestyle.
There are several ways that clubs can encourage their existing members to bring in new ones. “Member-Get-A-Member” programs that leverage members as goodwill ambassadors for the club can help to motivate new member referrals and generate word-of-mouth buzz in the surrounding community. Through these types of programs, current members are sometimes given bonuses and incentives to bring in new members, such as food and beverage credits, gift certificates, guest passes, special rounds of golf, or even sets of golf clubs. While these smaller incentives are a great way to promote Member-Get-A-Member campaigns without greatly impacting the club’s bottom line, the most successful programs of this type have been motivated by limited-time dues waivers or reduced dues for those members who bring in new ones during their first three years.
Clubs can also give current members a “gift certificate” that they can use to sponsor a new member at a discounted rate. While this kind of incentive benefits the prospect more than the current member, it can be a great way for members to convince their friends who might be on the fence about joining to step up to the plate.
Play Softball
With the economy only beginning to recover, some people may be hesitant to invest in club membership, even though they may be compatible with both the club lifestyle and its membership. Though some clubs offered steep membership discounts (often in the form of reduced or waived initiation fees or lower dues) during the recession, clubs can find other ways to be flexible and accommodate new members’ needs during these uncertain times. For membership prospects who are concerned about the high up-front costs of joining a club, some clubs are providing options for extended payment plans to help spread the cost over a period of time. Some clubs ask for a percentage of the initiation fee up front, then allow members to spread payment of the remaining portion over several years. Other clubs allow members to pay both their initiation fees and monthly dues with credit cards, giving members an added level of flexibility in terms of actual payment time—and a “miles” bonus. For some members who may have to relocate due to their job, offering initiation fee insurance can add a level of comfort for prospective members who are worried about joining the club, only to have to move out of the area before they are able to take full advantage of their membership.
Rather than discounting, per se, many clubs are offering more membership classes and categories to allow members to fine-tune their club membership to their needs. Less expensive social memberships or discounted memberships for both junior and senior members (or offering to waive or discount initiation fees for legacy members) can help prospects feel good about paying for the services that they use—and get a much better price. Some clubs also offer trial “summer memberships” that enable prospective members to use the club facilities and interact with fellow members before making a full commitment. Of course, those who are offered even limited or trial memberships should still be vetted with the due diligence to which full members are subject before any offer of membership is made.
While this article provides a description of some of the most common and popular tactics that clubs use to attract new members, it is by no means an exhaustive list. Most importantly, to develop the best and strongest tactics to ensure that your club can bat 1,000 in reaching its membership goals, be sure to take careful stock of your target market and appeal to their unique interests. These key elements of the membership development process should be incorporated throughout your club’s membership program. Now that you are familiar with the basic tactics for bringing in new members, stay tuned for the next article up at bat in our series detailing personal engagement during the membership process.